I got this game when it launched but I only recently managed to finish, wanting to pick it up before Fates release...but since the new Fire Emblem game is a cash grab I promptly cancel my preorder (in europe it's coming out next month!) and I barely had any reason to continue this game. I explain why in a bit.

For starters, I won't lie: I tried this game because of the newcomer mode,I got this game when it launched but I only recently managed to finish, wanting to pick it up before Fates release...but since the new Fire Emblem game is a cash grab I promptly cancel my preorder (in europe it's coming out next month!) and I barely had any reason to continue this game. I explain why in a bit.

For starters, I won't lie: I tried this game because of the newcomer mode, which doesn't permanently kill your units. I never liked that cheap gimmick because it's just an artificial difficulty rather than a real tactical one: in games like Valkyria Chronicles and Final Fantasy Tactics you could lose your units forever too, but you at least had the chance to save them before they died. In FE this is not the case and now, being able to play the game without that cheap gimmick it's actually a lot of fun!

The Presentation is amazing: the graphics are pretty good for a 3DS, the cutscenes are incredibly well done and voiced, and the main characters are well written and well characterised. The game itself is also well done, with smooth controls and all information shown on screen.

Too bad that the touch screen is BARELY used for anything....

Since this is my first FE ever, I can't compare to the previous games however there is a lot in this game: the pairing option allows two units to become one and increase the stats of each others, but also increase in likeness and allow you to unlock dialogues AND a potential additional character...which is your future child. Thanks to the new marriage option, characters can have children and those children will come back and help you out: unfortunately not ALL the women are completely eligible (except for the MC, who can marry anyone of the opposite sex) and so in my playthrough I had one man left behind and some women who coulddn't marry anyone...except for the MC...

But in my playthrough my MC was a female soooo....no, same sex marriage is not allowed!

The game also allows you to change and "promote" your class to higher levels but frankly this only changes few things, such as weapons you can use, stats and passives. On top of that the max level is 20 and it's not THAT hard to reach it. in the end you'll constantly swap classes to upgrade your levels and stats

Storywise it's also well done, with lots of in-game cutscenes with pieces of dialogue to make them sound more lively (which I promptly removed: they become annoying almost immediately). The writing is actually pretty good though and each character is unique enough.

Frankly I'd like to keep continuing talking about the positives...but this game for me has one major issue: it has zero depth.

Let's start from the basics: your units have no special skills for the exception of your passives, which are the ONLY unique things about each unit as they have no special active skills aside for the weapons. Weapons can break and CANNOT be repaired (actually there's just one item who can repair, but it's not worth it), meaning that you'll constantly swap weapons and save the best ones for the hardest fights. Forging it's also useless because breaking weapons so, pointless. Some units seem to be very weak, especially archers (who can't melee) and the first healers (who cannot attack) and due to the pairing they can become hard to train, forcing you to stop and train them properly.

Secondly, while the story is good, it's...discontinued so to speak. The first part is all about killing a king, the second part is all about killing another king, and the third part is about killing a dragon...wait a minute, why couldn't the game be about one thing? I felt the second part of the game to be completely unnecessary, it was quite a bore. And the last part it's far too quick and ends too soon.

And on top of that the game is very short: even with grinding and unlocking all the characters I could (DLC stuff not included), I only clocked around 27 hours: VERY short for a tactical rpg like this if you ask me. And the game feels really unfullfilling after a while, since all you ever do is change classes to increase your stats and it's very easy to do so.

Unless you play on classic mode.

That's the issue with this game: despite being a "noob-friendly" installment, it is still a Fire Emblem game at its core and the lack of permadeath makes the game easy and boring and the despite the fact that it can be quite heartbreaking to lose a unit you grew up with forever, I still think this is a cheap gimmick to make a game harder, especially when we have games with permadeath done better (Valkyria Chronicles, FF tactics to name a couple)

So do I recommend it? Yes, definitely, it's not a bad game per se and it's very easy for the newbies like me who suck at tactics to enjoy it. Still, if you want "good" tactical rpgs I'd look further: while FE is very good, it's definitely thought for the fans of the franchise.

Besides, this game is complete and not split into 2 games like its sequel Fates! It wins by default!…Expand

Fun TBS game, but honestly it's pretty overrated. Sacred Stones was the only other one I played in the series. Permadeath seemed to carry much more wight in that one, as you couldn't farm for helpers at your leisure. At the end of the day though, most of the additions were welcome. As far as story goes, who gives a f*ck. It's a lame RPG story I'm guessing. I don't play strategy gamesFun TBS game, but honestly it's pretty overrated. Sacred Stones was the only other one I played in the series. Permadeath seemed to carry much more wight in that one, as you couldn't farm for helpers at your leisure. At the end of the day though, most of the additions were welcome. As far as story goes, who gives a f*ck. It's a lame RPG story I'm guessing. I don't play strategy games for story.…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
I don't mind the story mode, the graphics, the music, the cutscenes, and most of the story. What I find stupid is that there seems like a lack of different types of character, then therefore, the weapons usable by each character; I liked Radiant Dawn, they weren't as general as characters in this game, instead of a paladin, there are ax paladin, sword paladin, lance paladin, even bow paladin. This added a layer a strategy, so that you had to have one character attacking a specific other one, making sure that it is a good idea after that. In Awakening, you can beat a large number of enemies with one character because of the number of different weapons this character can use. This isn't a problem for most of the game, until you need to get Priam, which you need 30 characters leveled up. This brings me to my next problem with this game, leveling up, boring and tedious, realizing more effective ways to level up characters all of the time, eventually using one character at a time. This is when I sometimes get annoyed to find the best level for the specific characters, sometimes finding the weakness of your character, forcing to search more. I say that it is tedious and boring because you have to kill every single one of them. I may be the only one that thinks this way, but in call of duty and most other first person shooter games, you learn how to go into the fray of a battle and shoot to kill whatever comes in sight. In this game, for this part of this game at least, you have to kill everyone on screen, so you're trying to find the best way to kill your opponent. A counter argument that may come up may be "there risen, it doesn't matter, it's pretty much zombies, things that should be killed," I'd say "what about when you fight against things that aren't risen?" Well, I can't really think of something to replace it, to get the amount of experience you need without using DLC, which adds more money to that $40 I've already spent on this game. People I noticed mention multiple art styles as a positive thing. I look at the appearances (the 3D characters) and art styles. Do they look similar? NO, THEY LOOK STUPID, the Black Knight for example, he's supposed to a have a helmet to mask his head. Guess what. No helmet, and face is see able, this is similar for most (if not all) of the SpotPass/DLC characters. Overall, 6.3/10, it's pretty pathetic it was beat out by both of the Rabbids Games on the 3DS.…Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
Finished this game by the beginning of the week.
SPOILER ALERT
Well, it certainly is a good game, but not great. Truth to be said, i think this game is too overrated. I saw many good reviews about the game on the internet, but oh well..when i actually play the game, it's not as good as i thought it would be.

The Story starts with you, the main character, see a dream where you kill Chrom.
And then you suddenly wake up to find Chrom standing in front of you. You join his gang, The shepherds, as the Tactician. Seeing that the nation is in a war state, Chrom journey off with the shepherds to save his king. One day he met a girl with a mask who called herself as "Marth", the legendary heroine who put Grimma the dark dragon to sleep several hundred years ago. It turns out that "Marth" is actually Lucina, the daughter of Chrom, who came from an alternate future to save Chrom from being murdered. So, how will the story ends? Can they bend the destiny? Play and find out yourself.

Plus point:
- This game has an interesting gameplay & great job system. The battle is fun and have a very good graphics. I mean i enjoy hacking people when they used a weapon that's not good against mine.
- Marriage system? Well it's one of the interesting point. You can build relationship between male and female in your team, and they'll get married, affecting their offspring who came from the future as well. And you have a lot of choices for that! I mean i considered a lot about who my main character going to marry.

Minus Point:
- Story is just too cheesy. I mean, your son/daughter came from alternate future. And you fight together to change the future? Well yes, it seems good at first, but ridiculous at the same time. They went back to the past but couldn't go back to their future, so they have to stay at the present with their parents? Seems kinda weird for me.
- Too many characters. I mean too many characters, but you can only take some people to the battle. And every character doesn't have any special traits. I mean, they are basically the same. Just different job, but you can change the job.
-Leveling up could be a pain in the ass. You get a new character, but they start at a pretty low level. You have to fight your way through to make them level up. Which is a total pain in the ass, because the enemy could kill that character in one hit. If you pair him with another character, there are chances that they won't get any experience. It sucks.

Well in the end, i think this game is just too overrated. I thought it would be super good, but in fact the game is just okay. 7/10 for this game.
And the last boss is just too easy. I kill him within 2 turns without any damage. Pretty much too easy.﻿…Expand

Maybe it's because it is the first game of the series I have played, or because I was expecting a lot after reading the reviews, but this game disappointed me a little bit. There are very few charismatic characters and I didn't find the story interesting, which by the way has plenty of unnecessary and confusing turning points and boring dialogues. However, I really liked the gameplay,Maybe it's because it is the first game of the series I have played, or because I was expecting a lot after reading the reviews, but this game disappointed me a little bit. There are very few charismatic characters and I didn't find the story interesting, which by the way has plenty of unnecessary and confusing turning points and boring dialogues. However, I really liked the gameplay, with a combination of tactics and classic RPG elements, and the possibility of evolving / changing characters' class. Overall, a good game but not in my top 3DS games.…Expand

First FE game I played, and I have mixed feelings over it. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret obtaining this game. But it is quite overrated.

The characters are interesting (beautiful art btw, may I say), but not so much to the point where you're engrossed over them. The marriage system was one of my favorite aspects of the game; it's a shipper's paradise haha. And the game is reallyFirst FE game I played, and I have mixed feelings over it. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret obtaining this game. But it is quite overrated.

The characters are interesting (beautiful art btw, may I say), but not so much to the point where you're engrossed over them. The marriage system was one of my favorite aspects of the game; it's a shipper's paradise haha. And the game is really dependent on the battling, so you may want to consider if you fancy a system like this. Overall, FE:A is a fun, refreshing game with a decent amount of things to do in a file, however the storyline is not the greatest you could get from a JRPG.…Expand

The game brings some nice new additions to the series, but in return neglects many of the fundamentals that made it great in the first place. For me personally, they turned the game into too much of a grindfest as it went along.

+More in-depth character support system with many options and possibilities.
+Many more character interactions, of which some are funny.
+Good design andThe game brings some nice new additions to the series, but in return neglects many of the fundamentals that made it great in the first place. For me personally, they turned the game into too much of a grindfest as it went along.

+More in-depth character support system with many options and possibilities.
+Many more character interactions, of which some are funny.
+Good design and visuals.
+More options to configure play.

-Character interactions rarely tie into the main plot.
-Weak main plot that is predictable and lacks any significant depth.
-Lazy map design and little mission variety.…Expand

I'm rather confused as to how this game is receiving such exceptional reviews. It's a mediocre tactics game that suffers from a lack of compelling elements. My biggest complaints are:
- You have to move THEN attack, no attack then move
- Maps are bland and lack features present in better tactics games (altitude, etc.)
- The "voice acting" mainly consist of simple utterances that areI'm rather confused as to how this game is receiving such exceptional reviews. It's a mediocre tactics game that suffers from a lack of compelling elements. My biggest complaints are:
- You have to move THEN attack, no attack then move
- Maps are bland and lack features present in better tactics games (altitude, etc.)
- The "voice acting" mainly consist of simple utterances that are repeated far too often
- Story & Characters are dull and uninteresting
I could go on but I'll leave it at this. The game isn't horrible and brings back a lot of the classic Fire Emblem nostalgia, but it's very far from great.…Expand

This game is graphically superior to anything else on 3DS and the music is superior to previous FE games. But the gameplay is the same as before. I wanted to see a queue system in a Fire Emblem game instead of the player and enemy rotations, but I wasn't given that option. Fire Emblem has always been afraid to innovate itself (not the genre - itself) and as usual I am rewarded for being aThis game is graphically superior to anything else on 3DS and the music is superior to previous FE games. But the gameplay is the same as before. I wanted to see a queue system in a Fire Emblem game instead of the player and enemy rotations, but I wasn't given that option. Fire Emblem has always been afraid to innovate itself (not the genre - itself) and as usual I am rewarded for being a chicken by keeping my lower level units back beyond harm. I was at least given a casual option to play the game which means you can lose units and they won't disappear forever in the casual mode. There is also a male/female option for choice of main character.…Expand

I've invested 20 hours into this game so far on the Hard setting and here is my take. It is way too easy and repetitive and unfortunately I have little drive to pickup this game to play now, which is a shame because the first few hours contained so much promise. The one negative review that presently exists nailed the issue on its head there's no reason to use 80% of the characters youI've invested 20 hours into this game so far on the Hard setting and here is my take. It is way too easy and repetitive and unfortunately I have little drive to pickup this game to play now, which is a shame because the first few hours contained so much promise. The one negative review that presently exists nailed the issue on its head there's no reason to use 80% of the characters you obtain since the main party levels up so quickly. Due to this you will not experience an enormous amount of text and back story between these characters since you will never use them. The game is repetitive battle after battle with little variation. Yes, the graphics are nice and the story is decent although VERY typical JRPG fare. After you've promoted your main characters to their master ranks and leveled their weapons up to the top rank around the 15th hour there's not much else to experience except for the tepid storyline.

I need to say I am absolutely shocked at the amount of poorly written positive reviews for this game that do not highlight these critical flaws in the game. I can only hope for the day Metacritic introduces some standard of quality for their user reviews. How can only ONE negative written review exist for this game that is the only review that points out something so glaringly obvious.

Disclosure: Gamer of 25 years, played hundreds of RPG's on PC, (S)NES, PS, etc.…Expand

Awakening has proven to be a very divisive game amongst the Fire Emblem fanbase. Players new to the series seem to appreciate many of the new features that have been added, while series vets find that their presence has come at the cost of other key components such as mission variety, map design, and balance.

Ultimately, whether or not you will enjoy this title is dependent very much onAwakening has proven to be a very divisive game amongst the Fire Emblem fanbase. Players new to the series seem to appreciate many of the new features that have been added, while series vets find that their presence has come at the cost of other key components such as mission variety, map design, and balance.

Ultimately, whether or not you will enjoy this title is dependent very much on your own expectations. If you're less familiar with SPRGs, or if you prefer a more open-ended take on the genre a la Disgaea or Final Fantasy Tactics, then you'll find plenty to enjoy here. If you are a long time fan of Fire Emblem, however, you will likely be let down by what's on offer in Awakening. Personally, as a new player to the series myself, and with a minimal history in the genre (about 8 hours of Valkyria Chronicles), I found the Pair Up features to be somewhat distracting in a way that seemed to undermine the core of the game.

It's worth pointing out what this game does well aside from its gameplay. The level of polish and amount of content is terrific, the 3D cutscenes are stunning, and the potential for replay-ability is certainly high. I found the story, and some of the characters, to be pretty bland.

It's hard to call Fire Emblem: Awakening a bad game, but it may be a disappointment to long-time fans.…Expand

- Great presentation
- Good OST
- Really intuitive and user friendly UI
The bad:
- The "Waifu Breeding" mechanic is extremely creepy. Seriously who marries a guy after talking with him 3 times? The whole addition of this gimmick feels like pure fanservice.
- The maps feel really repetitive in design and in objectives. Seriously, virtually all missions have the sameThe good:

- The "Waifu Breeding" mechanic is extremely creepy. Seriously who marries a guy after talking with him 3 times? The whole addition of this gimmick feels like pure fanservice.
- The maps feel really repetitive in design and in objectives. Seriously, virtually all missions have the same objectives: kill everyone or kill the commander. What was IS thinking by making a STRATEGY game with such little variety in the mission objectives?
- The story is horrible. Probably among the worst storylines I've ever experienced in any JRPG. It just feels really convoluted, like if the guys that wrote it had 3 different ideas for the plot and they just combined them in a really confusing, 3 arc storyline (filled with plot holes and everything). Seriously I still don't understand why the second arc was necessary. It felt like filler.
- The game is really unbalanced in Lunatic and Lunatic+. The game is not even about strategy anymore, it's an RNG fest in those difficulties. And to even the odds a bit you have to grind (it's not necessary, but to not grind would result in the game being pretty obnoxious) and to do it you NEED the DLC. Which carries us to our next point:
- There is an absurd amount of DLCfor this game. Seriously, why? At least they could have included the EXPonential Growth and Golden Gaffe maps into the game...

I think those are my main complaints about this game. If you're planning on buying it please don't do it. Wait for FE: Fates.…Expand

Even though this game has a great soundtrack, awesome characters and gorgeous cut-scenes, 90% of the maps are crap. The story is awful (it had a lot of potential) none of your decisions actually have impact in the plot. The game can be really easy or really hard, there is nothing like a medium difficulty.
The Pair-Up mechanic is broken, because you can just marry + pair-up and then theEven though this game has a great soundtrack, awesome characters and gorgeous cut-scenes, 90% of the maps are crap. The story is awful (it had a lot of potential) none of your decisions actually have impact in the plot. The game can be really easy or really hard, there is nothing like a medium difficulty.
The Pair-Up mechanic is broken, because you can just marry + pair-up and then the game is already beaten. This mechanic should be situational, not the first thing you do every chapter.
As i said, the cast is amazing EXCEPT for Chrom and Lucina (and some other characters) these two are really generic and without a differential compared with the other FE lords. Every antagonist is terrible in this game, and that is bad.
What almost kills this game fot me is the reinforcements, they come out without any kind of warning and kill you without you having any opportunity to defend yourself.
This game has a lot of flaws, but i can't simply give a bad score to those visuals, characters and fun it gave me.…Expand

Designed specifically to recapture the Blue Ocean crowd that Nintendo seemingly lost to the mobile mega machine, Awakening is an understandably streamlined and simplified experience compared to past games. Old fans will be happy to find that the basic, core gameplay mechanics are kept intact, while some (myself included) may be saddened by the lack of complexity and robust gameplayDesigned specifically to recapture the Blue Ocean crowd that Nintendo seemingly lost to the mobile mega machine, Awakening is an understandably streamlined and simplified experience compared to past games. Old fans will be happy to find that the basic, core gameplay mechanics are kept intact, while some (myself included) may be saddened by the lack of complexity and robust gameplay mechanics that made the Tellius saga and Shouzo Kaga's SNES and Playstation games so revered within the community. The story is leans much on the weak side, with mediocre story telling and many forgettable characters. Unfortunately many of the characters adhere strictly to overdone anime character archetypes, much more so than any Fire Emblem game before it. The CG cutscenes are top notch and help to alleviate some of the dryness of the story. The graphics are standard 3DS affair, with the notable loss of feet on character models. Unit design is, to be frank, awful compared to previous games and animations can be a bit jerky or simply "boring" looking (as is the case with all the magic spells). Map design and level clear conditions have also taken a hit from the casual hammer, with every map being a straightforward "rout the enemy" types of deal.
The 'Rescue' command has been replaced by the 'Pair Up' command, its polar opposite. Whereas the Rescue command causes the initiating unit to pull in the target allied unit into its space and trigger a loss in speed and skill, the Pair Up command causes the target to take in the user and will actually boost the stats of the target. This creates the potential to storm a map with an unstoppable juggernaut duo, as the paired up status also allows partner characters to join in the assault and also COMPLETELY nullify an enemy's attack. In practice, the system is rather cool even if it turns the game into a cake walk, and it is only really balanced when playing a harder difficulty where enemies have ridiculously high stats and are armed to the teeth with the best offensive and defensive skills.

All in all, Fire Emblem Awakening is a very competent game and it fulfilled its mission of bringing into enough new players to make the series profitable again. The game is perfect for newcomers, but may be lacking for old school fans. A challenge can still be had at higher difficulties, but to be honest any game can be made harder by jacking up the numbers. A game that has difficulty but also fairness due to masterful and balanced design is the best type of difficulty, which unfortunately is not something the series may ever see again simply due to the nature of the audience that now makes up the majority of its playerbase.

great game.its fun,challenging,and very satisfying.story is engaging with chracters you care about,lots of customization,has good graphics and level design,controls are great,and music is one of the better soundtracks from a video game ive heard in awhile.a game that tests your brain rather than kill things mindlessly and that what i like about it the most. even after i finished the gamegreat game.its fun,challenging,and very satisfying.story is engaging with chracters you care about,lots of customization,has good graphics and level design,controls are great,and music is one of the better soundtracks from a video game ive heard in awhile.a game that tests your brain rather than kill things mindlessly and that what i like about it the most. even after i finished the game i still want to go back and play it, its that good. a game worth $40 and one of the best 3ds titles to date.…Collapse

A great turn-based strategy game surpassing not only its blood-related predecessors but step-brothers and step-sisters of the Advance Wars series as well. Fire Emblem: Awakening is the new benchmark of the genre that is practically uncriticizable. At the moment on Nintendo 3DS there is not a better alternative.